Mubadala, Centerbridge in talks to buy Canaccord's UK unit after earlier valuation above a billion pounds
Key Facts
Centerbridge and Mubadala are in talks to buy Canaccord's UK wealth management unit, Reuters reported, citing Bloomberg, in a development concerning the ownership of a business providing investment and financial planning services. Reuters had previously cited sources estimating Canaccord Wealth's potential value at more than £1 billion. The agency at the time reported a dollar equivalent of $1.34 billion for that estimate as part of its coverage of interest in buying the wealth management business. The earlier valuation relates to the unit now under discussion, while Reuters attributed the report of negotiations involving Centerbridge and Mubadala to Bloomberg. The negotiations come as Canaccord evaluates strategic options for its wealth management business in the UK and Crown Dependencies, according to an official investor presentation by the group.
Other prospective buyers had previously emerged in the sale process, with Reuters reporting on 22 September 2026 that Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Warburg Pincus were in talks to buy the UK arm. That coverage detailed the two firms' interest in acquiring Canaccord Wealth, before the report of talks naming Centerbridge and Mubadala. Across the British wealth management sector, Reuters' September report noted NatWest Group's purchase of Evelyn Partners earlier in the year. That deal was valued at £2.7 billion, according to the agency, among the acquisitions seen in the sector. The backdrop to the Canaccord talks thus includes earlier interest from investment firms, alongside a bank's acquisition of another British wealth manager.
Client assets in the UK and Crown Dependencies reached a record equivalent to C$82 billion, according to Canaccord's fiscal first-quarter results presentation. In local currency, those same assets totalled £43 billion, according to the earnings call transcript published in August. Client assets grew 14% year on year in Canadian dollar terms compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. Annual growth was 13% in sterling terms, according to the same results presentation. These figures cover the UK and Crown Dependencies businesses together, which the group also addressed in its official presentation when discussing its continued evaluation of strategic options.
Within Canaccord Wealth's ownership structure, HPS has held a minority stake since 2021, according to Reuters' earlier coverage of the potential sale. That investment carries a contractual right concerning arrangements for the investor's exit, whose effective date the group specified in its fiscal fourth-quarter results presentation. From 29 August 2026, HPS has the right to require the UK wealth management unit to seek to arrange an exit, under the terms set out in the official presentation. Canaccord said in the same presentation: "We continue to evaluate strategic options," referring to its wealth management business in the UK and Crown Dependencies. These terms place the minority investor's exit within the contractual backdrop to talks over the unit's ownership, alongside the strategic review announced by the group.
Alongside the talks over its ownership, Canaccord Wealth signed an agreement to acquire the client-facing teams and client assets of the Harris Allday business from EFG International. EFG said in its announcement of the agreement that Harris Allday had about £3.1 billion in assets under management. It added that the business generated annual revenue of £20.3 million in 2025, the reference period for revenue cited in the announcement. The agreement covers the transfer of client-facing teams and client assets to Canaccord Wealth, according to the seller's description of the deal. Harris Allday thus represents a business Canaccord has agreed to add to its operations while talks are taking place over the purchase of the UK unit itself.
Canaccord Wealth provides investment management and financial planning services to clients in the UK and Crown Dependencies, according to Macfarlanes, its legal adviser on the Harris Allday deal. Its client base also extends to the Middle East and Asia, according to the law firm's description of the company's operations and services. Its presence in these regions includes the financial services it provides to clients, alongside its activities in the British market and Crown Dependencies. The next dated milestone in the Harris Allday agreement concerns the closing of the acquisition announced by EFG International. The company said when announcing the agreement that completion was expected in quarter 4 of 2026.